House Panel Votes To Limit Sales Calls

April 11, 1986

The House Commerce Committee voted Thursday to ban telephone sales calls before 9 a.m. and after 6 p.m., and to allow phone owners to prohibit all sales calls by marking their directory listing. The bill (HB 24) also prohibits sales calls to telephone owners with unlisted numbers. It would prohibit only telephone sales, and would have no effect on solicitations for charities or political support. Under the bill, telephone owners would be allowed to pay $1.20 a month to have an extra line inserted in their local directory prohibiting solicitations. A salesman who ignored that notice, called outside the allowed hours or solicited unlisted numbers could be fined up to $10,000 per violation. The state Division of Consumer Services reported that complaints about unsolicited calls ranked fourth among grievances in 1985. A similar bill received strong support in the House in 1985, but died in the Senate.